Wednesday’s Mini-Report

* Italy on the brink: “A day after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offered his resignation in the face of rising global market skepticism, investors revolted Wednesday, suggesting they do not believe that even a new leadership could fix Italy’s intransigent financial problems and revive its economy. Italian bond rates crossed a crucial level of 7 percent, prompting questions about whether Italy could soon need an international bailout.” The money for that kind of bailout isn’t there.

* Wall Street noticed: “At 4 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 389 points, or 3.2 percent, at 11,780.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was off 3.7 percent, at 1,229.10 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.9 percent to 2,621.65. Bank stocks were hit the hardest. During the day, Morgan Stanley was down nearly 8 percent. Bank of America was down more than 4 percent, Citigroup was 7 percent lower and JPMorgan Chase declined more than 6 percent.”

* Cutting costs: “President Obama is set to unveil an executive order on Wednesday aimed at cutting wasteful spending on excess travel, printing, cell phones and government ‘swag.’ The swag under fire includes plaques, clothing, mugs and other agency-identified items distributed to employees.”

* War on voting: “Efforts to make it more difficult for voters to cast a ballot are inconsistent with American values and will be thoroughly investigated by DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.”